More and more Romanians are switching to wooden houses of late
Business in the constructions sector has gone up considerably over recent years, amidst a growing interest from both individuals and companies to invest in real estate. Last year the turnover of this sector reached 80 billion lei, after in 2015 it stood at 76,7 billion, experts in the field say. The number of startups has also gone up in the first two months of the year, accounting for 1,671 new businesses, considering that last year their overall number stood at 8,741. Cheap housing under the First Home government-subsidized program was the main growth engine for the real estate market, analysts believe. Another argument underlying the positive evolution of the market is the number of building permits for residential housing, which went up by 51,6% in February as compared to the previous month.
Apart from housing in brick and concrete, Romanians have been developing a taste for wooden houses. Although this is still a novelty for Romania, the demand for such houses is on the rise. The number of companies building wooden houses has been increasing: dozens of timber-processing workshops have opened, especially close to the mountains. The French are apparently seeking this particular type of house. One company, located in Sura Mare village, Sibiu County, is offering a diversified range of products made using state-of-the-art facilities: houses, holiday lodges, chalets, garden furniture, toy houses for children, fences and other garden beautification objects. Ecaterina Burulean, the company’s sales director, told us more:
“We have been operating for 17 years in this field. We started out with small garden houses and smaller pieces of furniture, but seeing the growing interest, we’ve expanded our business. We started doing larger houses, and at one point our entire production was export-bound. We’ve been exporting a lot to Italy. In recent years however Romanians have started building wooden houses extensively. We build our houses using solid timber. Once the house is built, we then treat the wood against termites, mold, ultraviolet rays and fire. Customers can choose between various tones for the protective layer of varnish. Our houses have full options: we provide the doors, the windows, basic design, roof coating and installing. Therefore the house is delivered in hardwood, then our customers apply the varnishing and fit it with all the appliances and do the finish works. We are headquartered in Sibiu, where we manufacture all the constituent elements, fitting them to the required size, then we transport them using lorries to the building site, anywhere in Romania and Europe”.
Wooden houses are easy to build, and companies rely a lot on export when it comes to expanding the business. The First Home government program supported people who wanted to build wooden houses. Ecaterina Burulean has more details:
“We’ve recently noticed a growing trend in this respect in Romania, which is something we’re very happy about. Business is thriving, our schedule is packed until July, and we’re exporting in large numbers. Right now, in late April, we’re working on a house in Austria. In January we exported to France, in December 2016 to Great Britain. Over the years we’ve been exporting a lot to Greece, Italy, Hungary, France and Spain. There was a time when we exported everything we produced, but lately we’ve shifted manufacturing for the domestic market as well”.
Once built, houses are delivered and fit together anywhere the client wishes, whether it’s Romania or any other place in Europe, on top the groundwork the client has to build himself. We’ve asked Ecaterina Burulean about the benefits of having a wooden house.
“First of all, they are cheaper. A client from Austria told us the same design we provide costs about 130,000 euros in Austria, whereas ours costs 30,000, with everything included. So the price difference is quite big. Then there’s quality standards, and the fact that we execute the design quite fast, especially when clients want only the timber, choosing to build the house themselves. Our timber comes in all sizes and shapes, and everything is custom-made. 60-70% of our houses are holiday or seasonal homes. We use several panel frames, depending on the utility of the house. Standard walls are 45-mm thick, and in case of year-round homes the house needs to be thermally insulated, to prevent heat loss in wintertime…So the price is the main factor determining people to choose wooden houses over brick ones, as they are up to 40% cheaper. Secondly, these houses are built a lot faster, it takes roughly 4 days, depending on size. Two or three months later the client can already move in, once everything is in place. Another benefit is thermal efficiency. Although walls are thinner, the insulation is better than in the case of brick houses. Another benefit is the overall appearance of wooden houses, as, for instance, it is ideally suited for a mountain landscape…”
Prices for wooden houses vary depending on design and compartmentalization, as well as the amount of timber used. For a ground-floor house, the price is 115 euros per square meter, adding to which are the labor and roofing costs. 80% of people buying wooden houses use them as holiday residences. (Translated by V. Palcu)
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